Method of packaging empty bags



Nov. 17, 1953 M. c. BARNES METHOD OF PACKAGING EMPTY BAGS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 8, 1959 J n F IN VEN TOR MKS/WILL C'.5ANES BY Q -Q G MM Nov. 17, 1953- M. c BARNES METHOD OF PACKAGING EMPTY BAGS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 8, 1950 ICIG. l5

INVENTOR MARS/{ALL C. BARNES A T TORNE Y6:

' M. c. BARNES 2,659,187 METHOD OF PACKAGING EMPTY BAGS- Nov. 17, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 8, 1950 INVENTOR MARSHALL C. BARNES BY VimauM- A 7' rogzvsgr:

Nov. 17, 1953 M. c. BARNES METHOD OF PACKAGING EMPTY BAGS 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed April 8, 1950 INVEN TOR MVPSHALL C'JB/ua/vEs ATTORNEY-s Patented Nov. 17, 1953 U NIT STATES PATENT F F IC E 2,659,187. METH D-0 PACK NG H Marshall CpBarnes, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to, ;Bemis,;B'ro.i. .Bag Company, Minneapolis; Mi m acornc tation of Missouri r Applieatio'n Aprilii, 1950, Serial No. 154,859

.5 Claims. 71 i This invention relates=toan improved method of baling orpackaging-;f0r shipment and conveniencein handling and storageempty paper, cotton, burlap, and open mesh bags, whereby the operation of shipping such bags from the factory to the distributorand; user is greatly facilitated.

In recent years the cost of handling materials into, aroundand out pi -factories and mills has risen steadily untilnow-twenty-five to seventyfive per cent of-=the plant's direct pay roll may go into material-handling operations. While modern production techniques have reduced manufacturing costs {to a 1 minimum, 7 material handling techniques have not advanced: as fast as those'of production. --It; is therefore highly desirable-that some---method or means he; provided whereby the-materialj handling operations may be expedited to bring them substantially up to a par with manufacturing operations. I

The novel .method ,-of ;baling or packaging empty bagsherein disclosed is the result offlo'ng and costly experimental -wor-k in an attempt "to produce such a a method which will" rnater iailfy reduce handling-costs, and also to provide means whereby a plurality-ofempty bagsi regardless of sizehandshape may be packed tog'ether to form bales, each eontaini-nga predetermined number of empty-mags, said bales; being soformed that they may -readi-ly be transported aboutv from place to Q place with conventional equipment, such as tractors, trailers, power forks, and various othertypesof conveyingapparatus, and also-whereby theoperation of storing theemptyibags isgreatly facilitatedjaslwell as. the handlingof bags ;-around machines :or equipment where. the-bags are tobe filled with a product for subsequentdistrihution.

An important objector-the present invention therefore is. to providean improvedmethodpf packaging empty bagsof-all sizes, shapes and materials, 'wherebythe operations of --handling the empty bags 1 in shipments, storage, ;'-or' -in plants orv mills where the emptybags are subsequently filled with various products: may be greatly facilitated. and -expedited,- resulting v in' a material. reduction ins-theicost of handling the bags. 7

A further objectsisitor providean improved method ,of packaging-empty bags to facilitate handling andstoragerwhich consists seour? ing together apredetermined number of empty flat bags to form-a bale' andthe bags in said' b ale being" disposed-in ofis'etand overlapping relation, whereby when theabalehasbeen' completed;

the b ags therein are not likely to become disarranged in the ba'le; and a flexible outer en-I closingmember beingwrapped about the bags tocomplete the bale. I

A further objeet is to provide an improved method of packaging empty bags which consists inplacing a' suitable covering member orwrapper upon a pallet which has sufficient rigidity to adequately support thebags, and then arrange ing the bags" in small groups or bundles and placing said bundles on the wrapper supported on-the'pallet, theggroups of bag bundles being placed" on the pallet in' tiers with the: bags of one tier being disposedin crosswise relationffto the bags ofa'n adjacent tier, and so on iintil the bale-has'fbeen eom'pietedte' itsdesired size, after which the wrapper" or outer enelosingmember is folded about the stack of bags and firmlysecured thereto to 'sealjthe bagsagainst foreign mattenand whereby the operation oftransport-- ing and handling the bagsis' greatly facilitated.

Other objects of the invention reside in" the 'unique manner in which the bags of each group or bundle of bags are ofiset'in a directionlengthwise of the bag "bodies'lthereby to reduce the thickness of the bottomfends of the biindlesmso that as each-'tier' of "bag bundles has been comple'ted,- it wilfbesubstantially'uniform in thickness over its entire area; in the construction'of the pallets which may be made of various materials suita-ble'fo'r the' purp ose, and which pallets may have a plurality of supporting element'sor legs secured to the bottom thereof for upwardly spacing the pallets from the floor tofacilitate inserting liftingfforks or other bag handling equipment under the loaded pallets, particularly when'the "balesare of large size;- and in the manner o'f s'tackingthe bags in tiers upon a suitable pallet, whichepallet' may, m; some instances, "be secured to-thebale to become a part thereof." These and other objects of the inven} tion and thmeans "for thjeir attainmen't will be-rnore apparent from lthe' following description taken in eonriection with r the accompanying drawings. I 7

In e c m en dre i s r ha b disclosed a "strncture'designed to carry Qout'fthe various objects of the invention, but itis tobe understood that the invention .is not confined to the I exact features shown, 'as various changes bale showing'a complete tier of smallgroiips or bundles of empty bags placed upon a suitable supporting structure, the top bags of each bundle or group of bags being offset in a direction lengthwise of the bag bodies, thereby to make the tier uniform in thickness;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1, showing the bags of each group of bags offset or feathered in a direction lengthwise of the bag bodies, thereby to reduce the thickness of the bottom or thick ends of the bag bundles;

Figure 3 is a plan view partially in section, showing how the bundles of bags in the second or adjacent tier are disposed in right angular relation to the bundles in the first tier;

Figure 4 is an end view of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a bale completed to receive the top semi-rigid protecting member;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a single bundle of bags having satchel bottoms, showing one end of the bundle thicker than its opposite end because all of the bags in the bundle have their bottom ends at the same end of the bundle;

Figure '7 is a view similar to Figure 6 showing a bundle of bags having V bottoms;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a bale or package completed to receive the outer flexible protecting sheet or member;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a completed bale, showing it positioned upon a suitable pallet having legs to space it from the floor whereby conventional lifting forks may be inserted thereunder to facilitate transporting the bale from one place to another;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a bundleof textile bags of the type wherein each bag body has a seam at its bottom end and one along one side of its body;

Figure 11 is a View similar to Figure 10, showing a group of bags of a slightly different type;

Figure 12 is a perspective view showing the preferred manner of arranging the bundles of textile bags on the pallet to form the first tier;

Figure 13 is a view similar to Figure 12, but showing the preferred arrangement of the bags in the next or second tier;

Figure 14 is a perspective view showing a completed bale of textile bags, ready for shipment; and

Figure 15 is a schematic view illustrating the preferred manner of arranging bags of different sizesand shapes in the bales.

To carry out the novel invention herein disclosed, ,the bags to be packaged for shipment are first arranged in a plurality of groups or bundles, each such group containing a predetermined number of empty bags, as for example twenty-five. To simplify explanation, the bag groups above referred to will hereinafter be termed bundles, although it is to be understood the bags constituting each such bundle are not tied or otherwise secured together by a cord or other securing element, but are simply loosely placed, one upon another in the same relation relative to one another, as best illustrated in Figures 6 and '7.

Because of the manner in which the bottoms of the individual bags are folded in the manufacture of the bags, the bottom end of each bag body is thicker than its top end, whereby when a bundle has received its predetermined number of bags, one end thereof will be relatively thicker than its opposite end, as illustrated in Figures 2, 4, 6 and 7.

After the individual bags have been arranged in bundles of twenty-five bags each, a plurality of such bundles are placed upon a pallet which may be constructed of any suitable material having sufiicient stiffness or rigidity to support the desired number of bag bundles thereon. The bag bundles designated by the numeral 3, are arranged on the pallet in tiers, the bags being placed upon opposite ends of the pallet with the tops of the bags directed inwardly and with the inner ends of longitudinally aligned bundles overlapped, as clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. In these figures the bag bundles of the first tier are designated by the reference characters A, B, C and D, which represents the order in which they are placed on the pallet to complete each longitudinal row of bags in each tier.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the unique manner in which the bag bundles are placed on the pallet to form each tier of bundles. Because of one end of each bundle being thicker than the opposite end thereof, the upper bags of each of bundles A and B are offset longitudinally of the bag bodies in an inward direction, whereby the top ends of the upper bags of bundles A and B are overlapped a relatively greater degree than are the remaining bags in said bundles, as will be clearly understood by reference to Figure 2. To facilitate handling the bags, or inserting them into material packaging machines, the individual bags of each bundle are desirably maintained in substantially a flat condition. This makes it necessary to place additional bundles C and D on top of the inner or top end portions of bundles A and B, with the bags of bundles C and D longitudinally offset, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, whereby the first tier, generally designated by the numeral 4, will be of substantially uniform thickness over its entire area.

Following completion of the first tier 4, the second tier, generally designatedby the numeral 5, is placed on top of tier 4 with the bags thereof similarly disposed, but in right angular relation to the bags of tier 4. In other words, the bag bundles of tier 5 are arranged in crosswise relation to the bag bundles of tier 4, and are similarly longitudinally offset or stepped to equalize the thickness of tier 5 and insure that all of the bags in the bale, when the bale is completed, will be substantially fiat and free of unnecessary folds or wrinkles. The bag bundles are stacked in alternate tiers 4 and 5 from the bottom to the top of the bale, as illustrated in Figure 5, which is shown comprising eleven tiers.

When the individual bag bundles 3 are thus longitudinally offset or feathered, the finished bale will be substantially free of voids, and it will be of substantially uniform firmness over its entire area, as will be understood by reference to Figure 5, whereby it may readily be wrapped and tied as next to be described.

To assure that the bags in each bale will be maintained smooth and fiat, supporting sheets of a suitable flexible material, such as crimp paper, or any other material which will provide the necessary support and protection for the bags, are placed at the top and bottom of the bags of each bale, as best shown at 2 and 6 in Figure 8. The members 2 and 6 are preferably sized as shown in Figure 8, after which suitable cords or ties I and 8 are wrapped around the entire bale, including the members 2 and 6, thereby to firmly secure the bags in position in the bale.

Because of the bag bodies of adjacent or alternate tiers being overlapped and longitudinally 52 offset, as hereinbefcredescribed, the bags constitiitir'ig'fthe'. bale" shown in Z'Figure', 13- will be, .so firmlysecufed inthe balatha't the' balewillriainrain" its maria; shape -even when subjected to rough handlni g." f y To complete, the bale for' shipment,- flexible outer-protecting or cover vrrlen'rbters' aare wrapped about the partially completed bale, shown in Figure 8, and suitably secured thereto by cords or tiesll and 12, 'as shown in Figure 9,-thereby to complete the bale. Tolfacilitate handling the finished bales, theyniaybe secured to thepallets I bypassing cords or ties Hl-under :thepallets; as shown in; Figure 9.

To facilitate Wrapping the outer; protecting members or-s heets=9 about the bala-said sheets may Ebeplaced upon the pallet before stacking thebag bundles thereon, as-indicatedin dotted lines in-Figure-9. In such cases the first-tier. of

' bag bundles isplaced-directlyupon-the covering sheets-9, upon the pallet, and-the stacking of the tiers ofbagbundles uponthe pallet then proceeds until' the balehas been completed.

-It; will also be understood that when the above procedure is followed, the'tie cords or securing elementsll and-12 are-placed on the pallet beneath =sheets9 sothat when-the sheets 9 have been wrapped about the bale, the cords may be wrapped thereabout and ---tied-to complete the formationof thebale. When the outer -protect ingsheets are wrapped'about the bale and secured thereto,-,as above described, the bale may be removed from the pallet without removing the outer wrapping members. 1

In Figures lO- to 14,2inclusive,=the invention is shown-applied to the packa'ging-of textile bags. In'Figure lo'there' isshowna bagibody l3 formed from -a' singleblank of flat fabric, folded upon itselfandstitchedalong-oneside as shown at M, and across one end, as-shown atl5, to complete the formation of the bag body. Theopposite end of the bag body is open inform the usual :mouth thereof;

In'f 'igurev 11 there is-shown a bag body is made from a single tubular blank stitched across one endas shb'w n at 1 7 to compl'ete' the bag body. The bag bodies i3-and l6 are merely illustrative of textile bags in general, as obviously other types of textile bags may be packaged in accordance with the present invention"without departing from the scope" of" the claims. H

The -bundles of "textile 'bags because of, "the inherent' flexibility of such bagsf'are stacked :betwf'eensupportingmembers 2 and "6 in a manner similar to the bagsshownin the previous figures. Wrapping sheets 'or'outer protecting members 'I 8 and it are thereafter'wrapped'about the stacked bagbundl'es and tiedby"suitablebords or"tiesas shtwn in Figure '14,

To facilitate Wrapping the outer protective sheets or members l8 and is about the bag bundles, they are previously placed upon a pallet l in cross-wise relation, as shown in Figures 12 and 13, and the first tier of bag bundles indicated by the numeral 2|, is then stacked upon the top sheet or member 19. Each tier is shown comprising three bag bundles, two of which are disposed in edge to edge parallel relation, and the third bundle in cross-wise relation to the first two with one of its side edges abutting the adjacent ends of the other two bundles, as clearly illustrated in Figure 12.

To equalize the thickness of the tier, the three bag bundles are arranged with their thick ends positioned as shown.

in theseeond .tienindicatedby, the numeral. 22. the farrangementwof L the 'bilgsis r'qpp that of i the Tbundles Lintier #1, and .when .the proper number .ior tiers have been stacked. one upon another, as above describedthe bundles of adja-- cent tiers willJoelso. overlapped with one another that a very solid; and compact "bale is "formed. Alsobecause'ofgthe staggered arrangement of'the bag bottoms ithroughout .the completed; bale,

there wi1lbeno.-tendency :of the .bag'ssettling or becoming more compact in some areas...o'f1the bale, thereby assuring that,the bags in each bale willbedelivered totheindestina'tions. in asmooth, unwrinliled condition. p

.The cover-ing. .sheets I 1'8 .and .19 may then be wrapped about Y the stacked bundles or the "bale and suitably secured thereto .by cords or ties, aS hereinbefore described, and as-illustrated infEig. ure .14, whereby 'thebalef isicompleted, ready" for shipment, aswlill readily-be understood.

'In Figure 14 it will be noted. that certain of. the tie strings or cords pass under'the pallet'l whereby thev pallet'becomes in efiect a'part'ofthe bale and 'is transportable therewith. The pallet lis proferabl'y provided with blocks or feet 23 i'for' spacing the pallet from the floor: to permit the insertion of lifting forks "unden'the palleflto transport the bale.

In some cases it maybadesired to compl te the bale independentlyof thepal'letfor; the 'bale'may be placed upon "a disposable pallet. constructed;

of a heavy semi rigid paper stock which" may readily be discarded'when it has'served its pure pose. In' other cases'fth pallets" are returned to the shipper for re-use;"""By arrangingJ"the..-bags in small" groups or buridleseach' 'havingiapre-T determinednumber "of bags thereini' and'tsta'ck ing such bag bundles in" bales as herein dis closd,

has'made it possible'to greatlyexpedite theihare thing of bags in shipment and storage, "and -in plants-where the emptybags-are subsequently fed to machines to be filled with various commodities for distribution tothetra'dei' "The" bales", when supported upon pallets; *as shown in Figures*9 and 14, may readily be transported by motoror hand -operate'd fork trucksmr other lifting and transporting devices, such as is commonlyavail able in most industrial plants.

In addition to the convenience gained in the handling of the bags in transit and storage," the bags are maintained in'a sariitarycondition at all times, and theyare alsdmaintainedsmooth and flat, whereby the individualzbags of each bundle may readily be handled in thepperation of'ieeding the empty bags to'various forms and types of apparatus such as utilized .in the. packaging industry, I

InFigure 15 there "is shown a schematic. view illustrating variousmetho'ds of arranging bag bundles of different sizes and shapes in a bale during the stacking of the bag bundles therein.

In the foregoing, each bale has been shown having its bag bundles disposed between semistiff or rigid members 2 and 8, which may be made of any material applicable for the purpose. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be so limited, as obviously the m.. bers 2 and 6 may be omitted when baling certain forms and types of bags or containers which, when arranged in bundles in a bale, as featured in the present invention, will produce a bale having sufiicient stability and ruggedness to ade-' quately withstand handling, when merely wrapped with the outer protective sheets 9, shown 7 lnFigure 9, or with sheets l8 and 19, shown in Figures 12 to 14. The particular arrangement of the cords or ties I, 8, I0, I] and I2 may also be varied in accordance with the requirements of the particular job at hand.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, and the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible in view of the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A method of packing a predetermined number of fiat empty bags into a bale, and wherein the bottom end of each bag is relatively thicker than the top end thereof, which consists in stacking the .bags to be baled into a plurality of small bundles, with the bags of each bundle being disposed in flatwise relation with their bottom ends at one end of the bundle, whereby one end of each bundle is relatively thicker than its opposite end, placing a group of said bag bundles on one end portion of a supporting member in side by side relation, to cover substantially the entire surface, with the thick ends of the bundles disposed adjacent an outer edge of the supporting member and having the top ends of the bags directed inwardly towards the central portion of the supporting member, similarly placing a second group of bag bundles on the opposite end portion of the supporting member with the thin ends of the bundles disposed adjacent to the thin ends of said first placed bag bundles to form a tier of bag bundles on said supporting member, longitudinally offsetting the top bags of each bag bundle in a direction towards the central portion of the supporting member to decrease the thickness of the thick ends of said bundles and to substantially equalize the thickness of said tier of bundles, stacking a second tier of bundles upon said first tier with the bundles of the second tier disposed in right angular relation to the bundles of the first tier, and so continuing to stack the bundles in alternate tiers until the bale has received the required number of bags.

2. A method of baling fiat empty bags in accordance with claim '1, wherein a supporting member similar to said bottom supporting member is placed upon the top tier of bundles and cooperates with said bottom supporting member to protect the bags against damage when flexible securing elements are subsequently wrapped about the bale to complete the formation thereof.

3. A method of baling flat empty bags in accordance with claim 2, wherein an outer enclosing member or wrapper is placed directly upon a suitable pallet, and placing said supporting member with the stack of bag bundles on said enclosing member, and subsequently wrapping said outer enclosing member around said sup porting member and the stacks of bags thereon to complete the formation of the bale.

4. A method of baling flat empty bags in accordance with claim 1, wherein outer wrapping or protective sheets are placed directly upon a pallet in crossed relation, and upon which said bag bundles are stacked and subsequently wrapped to complete the formation of the bale.

5. A method of packing a predetermined num ber of fiat empty bags into a bale for shipment and storage, and wherein the bottom end of each flattened bag body is relatively thicker than the top end thereof, which consists in stacking the bags to be baled into a plurality of small bundles with the bags of each bundle being disposed in fiatwise relation with their bottom ends at one end of the bundle, whereby one end of each bundle is relatively thicker than the opposite end thereof, placing a group of said bundles on one end portion of a pallet, in sidewise relation, with the top ends of the bags directed inwardly, similarly placing a second group of bundles on the opposite end portion of the pallet, whereby the two groups of bundles are disposed in opposed relation, thereby to complete the formation of a tier of bundles on said pallet, similarly placing other groups of bag bundles on said first tier of bundles to complete a second tier, the bags of said second tier being disposed in crosswise relation to the bundles of the first tier, continuing to so stack groups of bundles in successive tiers on the pallet until the bale has been completed to the desired height and, finally, wrapping an enclosing member around said bale and securing it in position thereon by an elongated, flexible, securing element, said pallet being spaced from the floor to permit the securing element to pass therebeneath, and to permit the insertion of a lifting fork under the pallet.

MARSHALL C. BARNES.

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